


teen detectives holiday fics

by dramaqueenminyard



Series: Teen Detectives [3]
Category: Ginny Gordon - Julie Campbell Tatham, Hardy Boys - Franklin W. Dixon, Nancy Drew - Carolyn Keene, The Dana Girls, The Trixie Belden Mysteries - Julie Campbell Tatham & Kathryn Kenny
Genre: Dancing, Fluff, Holidays, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-20
Updated: 2017-12-20
Packaged: 2019-02-17 07:55:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 4,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13072509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dramaqueenminyard/pseuds/dramaqueenminyard
Summary: Each chapter focuses on a different couple and how they spent their holiday season.





	1. doing alright with your christmas of white

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> brian and joe look at christmas lights

If Joe wasn't wearing Brian's college jacket, he'd have frozen to death by now. No matter how many times the older boy insisted that the heat in his car was on, Joe sure didn't feel it. At least the radio worked. 

I'll have a blue Christmas without you." Elvis's voice poured out of the speakers. 

"Hey, this is my favorite Christmas song." 

"Seriously? That's like, mad depressing." 

"No way. It's a beautiful song, and no one does Christmas like Elvis." 

"I sincerely hope you're kidding." 

"Fine, what's your favorite Christmas song then?" 

Joe smirked and scrolled through his phone to find it. 

"I don't want a lot for Christmas, there is just one thing I need." Joe sang along. 

"Mariah Carey, really?" 

"She's the voice of Christmas, Brian." Joe said with conviction. He looked up to find Brian already looking back at him, a look that could easily be mistaken for fondness on his face. 

Joe cleared his throat and tried to get the butterflies in his stomach under control. 

"So, I heard this neighborhood has awesome lights." 

"Yeah? I hope so. None of those-" 

"Solar powered projectors, I know. You're such an old man some times." 

"You like that about me." 

Brian was going for teasing, but Joe's treacherous stomach suddenly wanted that butterfly feeling back. "There are a lot of things I like about you." 

Brian looked over at him, all cheerful seriousness against one houses extravagant light show. Elvis sang about his blue, blue Christmas, and Joe leaned a little further over the center console. Brian leaned in to meet him. 

"Merry Christmas, Joe Hardy."


	2. let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> baking with lucy and ginny

The kitchen was a mess. Ginny felt personally responsible- she'd never baked anything before, and it was definitely her who'd started the food fight. 

Just after they'd put the cookies in the oven, Home Alone playing in the background, Ginny had licked the mixing spoon free of batter. 

"G! You're gonna get salmonella!" 

"Come on, Lucy... just eat a little bit." 

Lucy attempted to duck as her girlfriend shoved the spoon at her. A little bit of batter landed in her hair, and some dotted the tip of her nose. She gasped in shock as Ginny's laughter filled the room. Lucy picked up a handful of flour and flung it right onto an unsuspecting Ginny. 

Her shorter girlfriend retaliated with some flour of her own, then so on. Both ended up collapsed on the floor, covered in flour and laughing until they were breathless. 

Lucy looked over at Ginny, beautiful even through the flour covering her hair, skin, and clothes. Ginny pulled her close for a hug, but Lucy pulled back in time to mouth along to her favorite line of the movie. 

"Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal."


	3. merry and bright

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> dancing to christmas music with mart and dan

For the first time in months, Mart had the house to himself. 

Trixie was out with Honey, and Brian wasn't there for the holidays quite yet. His parents had taken Bobby out to ice skate, so he was all alone. Well, just for a little while. 

The tree was up in all of its glory. Mart's room was a little less festive, but he had a garland and his extensive Christmas sweater collection spread out over Brian's old bed. 

He had his holiday playlist on and his laptop speakers all the way up. There was even a Christmas cookie candle burning. Dan might be a bit of a Scrooge, but there was no way he could resist Mart in all of his holiday glory; he even had on a Santa hat! 

It was high time Dan Mangan got over his Grinch-ness. 

"Hey, babe!" Mart greeted his boyfriend as he opened the door. The taller boy brushed the snow off his sleeves before coming in. 

"It's a little presumptuous of you to only invite me over when no one's home." 

"Ooh, 'presumptuous'. I think I'm swooning." 

Dan finally took in the hat, sweater, and distant sound of Christmas music. 

"What have I gotten in to?" Mart grabbed his arm and pulled him up the stairs. 

"I'm telling Brian you defaced his side of the room." 

"Defaced! I'm starting to rethink my intentions for having you over." 

"Oh, what were those intentions?" Dan crowded in closer. 

"To get you to stop being such a Grinch." Dan rolled his eyes, but pulled him in for a kiss anyway. "Mm, you taste minty." 

"Well, it is Christmas, after all!" Dan pulled Mart's hat down over his eyes. 

"You're a dork." 

"Ohh, I love this song! C'mon, dance with me." He caught one of Dan's wrists in one hand and his waist with the other. Dan faked reluctance, then began to sway. 

_May your days be merry and bright, and may all your Christmases be white._


	4. hurry christmas, hurry fast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> trixie and honey go shopping

Trixie leaned back against the oversized pillows at the head of Honey's bed. The other girl was lost in the depths of her walk in closet, searching for her baby blue scarf. 

"I got Di for Secret Santa." Her voice was muffled through the wall and layer of clothes hanging on it. 

"Honey, you aren't supposed to tell me!" 

"But I can't figure out what to get her!" 

Honey's shiny brown hair finally emerged. The taller girl was all long, bony limbs compared to Trixie's smaller, sturdier frame. 

"Secret Santa is supposed to be a secret, Hon. It's right there in the name. Besides, you always give the best gifts." 

Honey huffed. 

"When I'm buying normal gifts, there's no price limit. And I don't have to try and make it secret." 

"Get her something artsy or purple, she'll be fine." 

"See, you have ideas! You have to help me." 

"We're shopping for our snowball dresses, not presents." 

"We can add it to the list!" 

By the time they got to the mall, Honey's list was fourteen items long. Trixie knew that the two of them wouldn't last long before getting distracted by all the holiday displays. 

"Ohh, Trixie, I wanna go and see what the candy store has!" 

A kiosk behind Honey caught Trixie's eye. 

"If I go in there I'll never come out. How about we meet in the food court in ten?" 

"Okay, sure." Honey was already drifting closer to the Candy Shack. 

Trixie read the sign on the kiosk. Custom charm necklaces. 

"How much for one in rose gold?" 

"Depends on how many charms you want. The best deal is to get three, though. Especially if you want it custom made." 

"Yeah, okay. Rose gold, three charms, one custom made, how much for that?" 

"$50.00." 

Trixie held back her wince. She had babysitting money, though. She could handle it. 

"What charms would you like?" The salesperson handed her a thin catalogue. 

"An H initial, this rose... can my custom charm be a name?" 

"Sure, just write it out on your order form." 

Trixie's hand shook a little more than she's like to admit writing out her own name. 

"What took you so long?" Honey asked, sipping on what Trixie could guess what a lemonade. She pushed the other cup towards Trixie. 

"Just looking around. We ready to go buy dresses?" 

Honey's face lit up, and her unoccupied hand reached out to grab Trixie's. 

"Of course!" 

However risky her Christmas gift was, Trixie had a feeling it would work out.


	5. don we now our gay apparel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> chet and biff get ready for the party

Chet stared himself down in the person-sized mirror in Biff's room. He took in the bright red and white stripes against his dark skin. The shirt was cropped off to show his stomach, and the obnoxious pants weren't nearly high enough to make up for it. 

"I look like a slutty candy cane." 

Biff wrapped his arms around his boyfriend. "I happen to love candy canes." His hand slipped up to where the shirt left Chet's lower ribs nearly exposed. "And, I happen to love you." 

Biff watched his boyfriend duck his head, shy under the attention. 

"Hey, if you don't want to wear it, I'm sure your sister and Callie won't mind too much." 

Chet tilts his head and takes in the outfit again. 

"If I put a long sleeve shirt under it, the top can stay, but I am not wearing these pants. My legs look like barber's poles." 

"Aww." Biff ran his fingers over one of the red, velvet stripes. "I like the pants. But I know that the key to a good relationship is compromise, so sometimes we give things up for each other." 

"For the last time, I am not trading in my car." 

"It was worth a shot."


	6. what a bright time, it's the right time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> callie and iola at the party

Every year, the Morton's throw an epic Christmas party. 

Mr. and Mrs. Morton have a tradition of going to the mountains for a romantic getaway just before the Christmas rush really sets in, and Iola and Chet have been using that to their advantage since eighth grade. 

Their parties aren't too wild- Secret Santa, dancing, maybe a little drinking and smoking, all completed by the mandatory holiday attire. 

Their friendship group had shifted some over the past year, but really, Iola thought they were all better for it. This year, Callie would be her date. 

"These outfits are smoking! We look straight out of Mean Girls." 

"If we look straight we're doing something wrong." Iola pulled Callie in for a kiss. 

Their outfits were a little bit over the top, but that was really the whole point. 

Their red and white fur and velvet ensemble was topped with Santa hats and paired with knee high boots. It was the plan to win best holiday attire this year, as they had every previous year. (The judging panel including them might be a little biased, but it was all in fun and games.) 

"Hey, I love this song! Let's go dance." Iola stopped her before she got out of the doorway of her bedroom and pulled her in for another kiss. 

"I'm really glad I get to spend this Christmas with you, Callie." 

"I'm glad you do too, Iola. Now, c'mon, it'll be half way over before we get down there!" 

Iola began to follow her girlfriend to the stairs. 

"I'll race you!" Callie called over her shoulder. 

"It's so on!"


	7. (secret) santa, baby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> phil should've looked up how to play secret santa before he got tony his gift

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (please remember than phil is jewish)

For someone who doesn't celebrate Christmas, Phil sure had spent a lot of time on his Secret Santa gift. 

He'd done all of the typography himself- 100 little cards, nicely decorated, each stating something he loved about Tony. 

His Secret Santa draw had been pure, absolute luck. 

The truth is, Phil would've gotten Tony a gift if he'd drawn him or not. He probably wouldn't have gotten him the same gift- he felt secure under the anonymity of Secret Santa. 

No one had to know that he loved the days when Tony left his hair in its natural floppy glory, or that he thought Tony's nose-scrunch laugh could fix everything wrong with the world. No one had to, and no one ever would. 

~ 

So Phil probably should have researched how to play Secret Santa before he got Tony his gift. He'd had the basics of it- draw a name, get that person a gift, they don't know who got it for them... it's right there in the name. Secret Santa. 

A two minute Google search would've explained the guessing part, instead of him having to learn the hard way. The whole gang was sitting in the Morton's living room, gifts on every surface. 

Vanessa tore through checkered print wrapping paper to get to her present- a really soft looking teddy bear in a lab coat. 

"Alright, V, three guesses." Joe said, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees. 

"Well, with the wrapping paper, it's gotta be Nancy." 

"Guilty as charged!" 

Phil grabbed the arm of the person next to him, Lucy. 

"You guess who got you the gift?" 

"Of course! That's the point of Secret... wait, you've never played Secret Santa before, have you?" 

Phil shook his head as his face grew pale. 

What had he done? 

It seemed like forever before things came around to him or Tony. Phil wasn't too interested in playing- too busy having an internal crisis, really- but Lucy shoved his gift into his hand and really, the short girl could be quite demanding when she wanted to be. He unwrapped his new phone case and half-heartedly guessed Chet, then Jim. 

"Correct, Phillip!" 

"Thanks, I really like it." 

"How about Tony goes next?" Honestly, Lucy, so not helping the situation. 

"Sure." Tony smiled, and of course it was charmingly, because that's who he is and Phil is going to die. 

Tony opened his gift carefully, because he's the sort of person who never rushes things. Something similar to that is written on one of the "100 Things I Love About You" cards he was currently holding. 

He stared down at it in shock. The whole room got quiet as everyone craned their necks to see what was written on the front of the cards. 

"I'm uh, going to get some fresh air." Phil watched helplessly as Tony left, taking the cards with him. Iola, ever the gracious hostess, resumed their game by snagging her own present off of the back of the couch. 

When Phil was sure no one would really notice, he slipped out of the room and into the Morton's back yard. He'd forgotten his own coat, but Tony hadn't, and sat with his hat pulled down over his ears, flipping through the cards carefully. 

"So..." He looked up. "You might have figured out who got you that." 

"I have a few guesses." Tony grinned, as charming as ever. 

"Look, Tony-" 

"Hey, you don't have to explain yourself." 

Phil watched a snowflake catch on Tony's eyelash. 

"But I want to. Look, Tony: you're my favorite person in the whole world. You're my favorite reason to get out of bed in the morning, the one thing that can always make me smile on a bad day. I've been head over heels for you since I saw you behind the counter of your pizza shop, and I don't see that changing any time soon. So, if you'll have me, and if you don't think all of this was too cheesy and if you don't want me to shut up right now, I would love to be your boyfriend." 

"I do want you to shut up, so I can tell you that this is all I've thought about since the first time you flirted your way into a free pizza. Now, get over here, let me kiss my new boyfriend."


	8. see my baby underneath the mistletoe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jim and john and some mistletoe

"It's the rules of mistletoe." 

That's a cheat, and John recognizes it as such even as he says it. He and Jim were both sticklers for rules, but this was a breath away from a challenge. 

There wasn't any particular reason the two of them should have ended up alone in the kitchen. 

Callie and Iola's Christmas party was loudly happening on the other side of the wall, and that was reason enough for John to be in the kitchen. Loud noise and chaos stressed him out. He'd found a seat on the counter, flipping through what he assumed was Callie's mom's gossip magazine. 

That's how Jim had found him, as he'd come in for a drink refill. 

Despite being in the same circle, and despite John's minor crush, they hadn't been by themselves before. John slid down off the counter. 

"Hey." 

Jim sat his cup down on the counter. 

"Hey. Is everything alright? Not having fun at the party?" 

"It's a little... loud, for my taste." 

Jim nodded. "Yeah, I get that." 

"I was about to go back in there." 

Jim nodded and picked up an empty cup. "Want a drink?" 

"Sure." John watches Jim pour a can of something into the cup. His hands are really pretty, long fingered and freckled. Their fingers brush when John takes the cup from Jim's hand. Something shifts in the dimly lit atmosphere, and John feels it like the floor dropped two feet. 

They're standing right by the doorway, and John knows from observation that there's mistletoe right over them. That brings him to the current situation. He points toward the ceiling and says, with feigned disinterest, "It's the rules of mistletoe." 

"There's no such thing." Jim says, but he's moved so close John can feel his breath on his cheek and isn't this just what he's wanted for a year and a half? 

He stands as still as possible, and waits. Then, Jim's beautiful hand is cupping his cheek and there are lips pressed against his and if he thought the party was overwhelming he clearly knew nothing. 

It took his brain a minute to catch up, but then he was kissing back and yeah, he could stand never breathing again. 

This could be his one chance, he figures. He and Jim might never kiss again. So, he gets that much closer and finds something to do with his wandering and hands and yeah, Lucy's lunchroom gossip was right and Jim does have well defined abs. John might have died and gone to heaven. Then Jim is kissing his jaw and then his neck and it doesn't matter that they're in Callie's kitchen. 

John's back his the counter and Jim looks up at him, a pretty blush across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. John reaches out to trace it and Jim ducks his head. 

"Hey, no being shy. Rules of mistletoe." 

Jim seems to remember that that's what they're doing- following rules- and stands back up straight. " 

"Do you need some ice in your drink? It can't still be cold." 

"Wow, what a shift. Sure, I guess." 

Jim smiled like he was thankful John didn't press him on the sudden stop. 

"Are you ready to get back to the party?" 

John frowned. "Are you going to pretend this never happened?" 

"Isn't that what you want?" 

"Oh my God, Jim. I've liked you for a year." 

Jim grabbed John's wrist and pulled him those few steps closer. He pointed up. "It's the rules of mistletoe."


	9. maybe i'm crazy to suppose (i'd ever be the one you chose)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> bess, di, and louise decorate for the Snowball

Di had never been more aware of how short she was. The Christmas tree she was attempting to put a topper on wasn't even that tall! Still, her fingertips couldn't even brush the highest branches if she was on her tiptoes. 

Louise comes up beside her, and stretched to her tallest as well. They were both still too short. 

A long arm reached over their heads and secured the star to the top branch. Bess's pretty and long blonde hair brushed Di's shoulder as she pulled her arm back. 

"Need anymore help? Maybe a countertop you can't reach?" 

Louise rolled her eyes, but a smile tugged the corner of her mouth. 

"We're not that short, you giraffe." 

"Keep telling yourself that." Bess said, and winked before walking away. 

Di felt her face warming with a blush. 

"She's so pretty." Louise murmured. 

"Yeah." Di agreed. 

They watched her cross the soon to be dance floor and help a younger student hang up origami snowflakes. 

"There's always prom." Louise offered. 

"Yeah, there's always prom."


	10. please have snow and mistletoe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> frank and ned sneak out of the dance

Frank Hardy looks good in a suit. 

This isn't exactly news to Ned. If you asked him, Frank looks good in anything. 

He hadn't had the chance to see his boyfriend before the Snowball; if he had, they probably would have been late. 

Not a soul at school knows they're together. This is for multiple reasons; when they first got together, Ned was fresh off of his breakup with Nancy, they were only fooling around and it had yet to become the serious relationship it now was, and neither had been ready to come out yet. Now, they were just basking in the glory of sneaking around. 

Ned was sitting at one of the round tables surrounding the dance floor. He'd ended up going with Bess- a simple elimination of friends- but she was busy dancing with the party planning committee, and Frank had went stag. 

Honestly, what was the point of a dimly lit room with little supervision surrounded by an empty building if they weren't going to sneak off? 

If anyone had been paying attention to Ned, they would've noticed the way he was blatantly checking Frank out. The only person even half paying attention was Frank, with the occasional glance in his direction while he nursed his cheap punch and talked to Joe and Brian. Ned caught his eye and motioned toward the door. 

Frank mouthed "Not yet." His boyfriend pouted, and Frank rolled his eyes in response. Ned got up anyway, and slipped by his practically ancient English teacher. He didn't particularly want to wonder the halls for hours, but he was horribly bored without Frank around. He had a feeling he wouldn't be bored must longer. 

The second time walking down the hall off of the cafeteria, a hand reached out of one of the dark classrooms and grabbed his wrist. Before he could so much as screech, a familiar hand was covering his mouth. 

"Finally came around, huh?" 

Frank took something from his pocket and held his hand over their hands. When Ned looked up, he saw mistletoe. 

"Cheesy. I love it." He pulled Frank down by the lapels of his suit. 

"You look so good tonight. Kind of want to mess it up." 

"Then why did you make me wait so long?" 

"I'll make it worth it." 

Ned smiled into the kiss. 

This was so much better than a high school dance.


	11. everyone dancing merrily

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> vanessa and jean dance at the snowball

Jean dances like she speaks, Vanessa thinks. Confident, sharp, precise. Just like how Vanessa can see her thinking through the things she says, she can see her thinking through the way she moves. 

Not that she's paying that close of attention. 

If Vanessa is going to dance with someone equal to her at the Snowball, it's got to be Jean. There are other good dancers, sure, but Vanessa's taken classes for years and Jean is like the human embodiment of fluidity. The always lingering dramatic undercurrent of Vanessa's mind whispers, "I have to dance with her before the night ends." Her treacherous feet are taking her to the shorter girl before she can really think it through. 

See, here's the thing about Jean and Vanessa: they're rivals. Ask anyone. Vanessa figures that's just the way high school works; someone spreads a rumor that you don't like someone so all of the sudden you don't. They tend to run with the same group, but that makes it even more fun. The tension. The banter. It's a little bit fun, Vanessa thinks. A little bit like flirting. 

She wouldn't admit that to anyone, though. Not even Joe. 

~ 

Jean watches Vanessa approach her out of the corner of her eye. 

She whispers something about needing to talk to someone in the sophomore she's been dancing with's ear and continues to dance as she walks away. 

Vanessa taps her shoulder. 

"Wanna dance?" 

"Don't you think people might get the wrong idea, seeing you dance with me?" 

"I don't know what you could mean." 

Jean shrugged and held out her hand. 

Vanessa took it, and suddenly they were much, much closer.


	12. give it to someone special

Nancy enjoyed giving gifts ten times more than she enjoyed receiving them. There was something addictive about watching someone's eyes light up as their hands finished tearing through her always neat wrapping paper. 

The truth is, Nancy is an expert gift giver and a hopeless romantic, but this one had stumped her. She's only ever gotten relationship worthy Christmas gifts for Ned, and he was easy to buy for. 

George is another story. 

For one thing, she doesn't care much about material things, and normally Nancy admires that very much. It makes Christmas a little hard, though. 

She'd considered a skateboard, then a new jacket, then finally came to a record player. 

It was nice, sure, and thoughtful, but it wasn't enough. 

Record players don't exactly scream sentiment. She'd found the idea online- a charm of the wavelengths of her voice when she said "I love you." It was delightfully dramatic, and then she'd added her class ring on the chain for extra effect. 

The record player was wrapped up in bright red and topped with a big bow, while the necklace laid in a little box in her purse. 

They'd agreed to open their gifts alone, in the comfort of Nancy's living room with the record player under the tree along with whatever George had bought her. 

She got the same thrill as always when George opened the first gift and hugged her. 

"I bought you a record too." 

"It better be Christmas." 

"Of course! I'm not a monster." 

Nancy tore through George's gift- the polaroid camera she'd wanted and a framed photo of them- and then pulled the little box out of her purse. 

"I think people usually do that on one knee, Nance." 

Nancy rolled her eyes. "I'm not proposing. It's a gift." 

George gently picked the box from her hands. "You gave me your class ring?" 

"I've wanted you to have it since we got them. I just didn't know how to ask you. It's on a chain so you don't have to worry about sizes." 

George brushed her hair to the side. "Put it on me?" 

When Nancy finished clasping the necklace, she leaned down to kiss her girlfriend's neck. 

Seeing George wearing it was her favorite Christmas gift by far.


End file.
